March 26, 2009

REPORT #10

A one-day workshop on economic education mainly for middle school
teachers, organized by Network for Economic Education and sponsored by
Keizai Kiho Center and Chiyoda-ku Kyoiku Iinkai, was held at Nihon
University in Tokyo on March 14, 2009. There were about 20
participants, including not only middle school but also high school
teachers, university professors, publishers, businesspersons, etc.

After an opening address by Mr. Akira Arai (Tokyo Nishi High), Mr.
Shoichi Shinohara (Doshisha Univ.) gave a keynote lecture on
"Understanding Economic Mechanism, " where he emphasized "division of
labor" and "exchange" as the basics of the economy, and the importance
of the "firm" to understand the mechanism of production and its
relation with the rest of the economy including employment, labor,
consumption, finance and government.
Next, Mr. Toshita Saegusa (Meguro Chuo Middle School) presented a
teaching material to help understand the relationship between the firm
and the economy as a whole, based on Mr. Shinohara's argument.
Mr. Saegusa suggested that after a two-hour exercise of the "Beef Rice
Bowl Simulation" is conducted and reviewed, a new simulation "How to
Expand Beef Rice Bowl Shop" should be tried to help pupils understand
the mechanism of the firm further and its relations with the economy
and society at large. If time permits, the next step might be to
simulate "New Business Start-up" with the help of outside guests from
the business world. Finally, a simulation exercise regarding the
relationship between the firm and consumer/government would be
desirable, if possible.

A free discussion among the participants on the above presentations
was conducted by moderator, Mr. Issei Kato (Nihon Univ.) for about an
hour. There were various comments and arguments, including the basic
viewpoint such as "efficiency" and "equity" to evaluate the mechanism
of the firm as well as the economy as a whole, in relation with Mr.
Shinohara's presentation, and the limitations and possible
modifications of the simple "Beef Rice Bowl Simulation" such as the
employment factor, in relation with Mr. Saegusa's presentation.
Toward the end, a participant from the business world raised a
fundamental question about the traditional economic approach that was
emphasized at this workshop, and suggested that a brand new approach
should be considered to address the issues of the current financial
crisis and basic value changes in the global economy. As a result, the
discussion was carried over to the networking party after the workshop.

Overall, the main theme might have been a little too much to deal
with at a one-day (one-afternoon) workshop, but all the participants
could clearly understand the purpose, meanings and remaining problems
with this important theme. In this sense, the workshop was a success as
a first step toward further activities along this line in the future.

Excerpts:
As the Japanese economy, along with other countries, is being severely
affected by the US recession, triggered by the subprime loan problem,
there seems to be a widespread opinion in Japan that the American-style
market economy has completely failed. Many are now arguing that all
regulations in the financial sector should be strengthened since the
subprime loan problem was caused by too much
deregulation……………………………Given this reality, too much emphasis on the
demerits of market competition would be counter-productive. Rather, we
should share more positive views on the market system by paying
attention to regulations and distribution policies so as to maximize
the merits of market competition.

September 08, 2008

REPORT #8

Keynote Speech: "'New' Official Teaching Guidelines"
After a brief opening address by Doshisha University Professor Soichi
Shinohara, Mr. Yasuhiro Ohkura (National Institute for Educational
Policy Research) gave a keynote speech on "'New' Official Teaching
Guidelines," where he focused on recent changes in the official
teaching guidelines for social studies including economics for middle
schools.
Particularly in the subject of civil society (Kohmin), such terms as
"conflicts vs. agreements" and "efficiency vs. justice (equity)" should
be taken up as fundamental concepts to understand the contemporary
economy and society. Also the role and function of finance should be
explained by referring to the concepts of direct and indirect financing
in connection with changing economic and social conditions. It is
important that students be encouraged to think themselves of the roles
of the markets, public finance, etc., based on fundamental concepts
that they learn in class.

Symposium 1: "On Textbooks"
The first symposium, moderated by Prof. Eiji Yamane (Mie University),
took up various issues on textbooks in "Kohmin" (Civil Society) at
middle schools, "Gendai Shakai" (Contemporary Society) and "Seiji
Keizai" (Politics and Economy) at high schools. Prof. Yamane as well as
Prof. Takenori Inose (Hirosaki University) joined the panel as textbook
writers, while Ms. Sakae Nakaoki (Shimizu Shoin) joined as a textbook
editor, and Mr. Katsuya Takahashi (Tokyo-toritsu Ohshuhkan Middle-High)
and Mr. Ken Ito (Hachinohe-shiritu Konakano Middle School) as textbook
users.
Several interesting points emerged as a result of their interaction,
such as (1) the most widely used (best -selling) textbooks are those
that cover most of the key concepts with few omissions, thus may
readily used by anyone, (2) those textbooks that emphasize stories to
attract students' interest are generally unpopular among teachers due
to the lack of freedom and discretion left for teachers, and (3) the
widely used textbooks are generally boring for students, so teachers
tend to deviate from the textbooks if they try to give interesting
lectures to students.
In conclusion, textbook writes and publishers are advised to appeal to
schools and teachers regarding the strengths and characteristics of
their textbooks for their information.

Symposium 2: "How to Support School Education in Economics"
In the second symposium, moderated by Prof. Hisashi Kuhihara (Shinshu
University), the issue of how to support economic education at schools
was discussed by Mr. Soichi Nakagawa (Consumer Education Support
Center), Ms. Kikuko Harada (Entrepreneurship Development Center) and
Mr. Yojiro Nagayasu (Bank of Kyoto).
The three panelists first explained what they have been doing in
supporting school children and students at schools and elsewhere in
their respective fields, such as consumer education, social
entrepreneurship, and money and finance.
Their challenges include how to attract human and finacial resources to
their volunteer activities, and how to enhance the effectiveness of
their support by maintaining their contacts and feedback with children
and students over time.

Concluding Remarks:
In his concuding remarks, Prof. Fumio Ohtake (Osaka University)
summarized various presentations and discussions, and pointed out that
one of the charactersitics of economics textbooks for middle and high
schools in Japan seems to be less emphasis on the merits of the market
economy and more emphasis on its demerits, as well as negative
descriptions of government activities, compared to the corresponding
textbooks in other countries such as the U.S. and Europe.
At any rate, at least some parts of textbooks and reading materials in
economics at the middle and high school level should be rewritten, and
this annual meetings were quite useful in making us realize the
necessity to do so, according to Prof. Ohtake.
Finally, a closing address was given by Prof. Inose, but heated
discussions continued among participants at the Konshinkai party after
the meetings.

August 14, 2008

Report #7

The Network for Economic Education, in cooperation with Tokyo Stock
Exchange (TSE), held a two-day seminar in economics for middle/high
school teachers at TSE's Tosho Hall in Tokyo on August 11-12.
On the first day of the seminar, opening remarks were given by a
representative of the TSE group and also by Mr. Akira Arai (Toritsu
Nishi High) as the moderator.
In Session 1 (10:30-12:30), Mr. Shuzo Nishimura (Kyoto University) gave
a talk on "Economics of Medical Care and Public Pension," where he
emphasized the distribution side of medical expenditures that are
received in large part by doctors, nurses and other personnel in the
medical sector, implying that excessively suppressed medical costs
would have negative consequences on the number and quality of medical
personnel. Regarding Japan's public pension system, our choice between
the pay-as-you-go system (fuka-hoshiki) and the reserve fund system
(tsumitate-hoshiki) should depend on various factors, especially on the
rates of population decline and economics growth, giving a lesson that
we cannot often find unambiguous answers in economics.
In Session 2 (13:20-15:20), Mr. Masayuki Nakagawa (Nihon University)
made a presentation on "Political Economy of Fiscal Problems," where
the definition and meaning of the concept of "primary balance," which
should be restored to maintain public confidence in the government's
fiscal management in the long run. Also examined was the multiplier
effect of fiscal spending, which will depend on whether consumers are
myopic or anticipating future tax increases.
In Session 3 (15:30-17:00), a simulation game of the Japanese economy
was conducted by the Tokyo Stock Exchange group, involving all the
participants, where the game itself is intended mainly for high school
students and possibly third-year middle school students to understand
the money flow and public financing.
Finally, closing remarks were given by Mr. Soichi Shinohara (Doshisha University).
On the second day of the seminar (8/12), after his brief introductory
remarks, Mr. Akira Arai (Toritsu Nishi High) first had all the
participants play the “ultimatum game.”
In Session 1 (10:30-12:10), Mr. Soichi Shinohara (Doshisha University)
made a presentation in "International Economics," where he explained
Ricardian “comparative cost theory” in such a simple way that even
middle school students can understand it. An important concept is
“comparative” advantage rather than “absolute advantage,” which
determines the pattern of trade, and it should be noted that
“comparative” advantage tends to change over time, e.g., from light
industries to auto and high-tech industries in the case of Japan,
according to Mr. Shinohara.
In Session 2 (13:20-15:10), Mr. Motonari Kurasawa (Yokohama National
University) gave a talk on “Fundamental Problems and Microeconomics,”
where he highlighted such basic concepts as rational behavior, choice
and (opportunity) cost, efficiency in time allocation, supply and
demand, etc. One can go a long way toward the understanding of
economics by just learning these few key concepts.
In the Symposium (15:30-17:00), four panelists (Mr. Arai, Mr. Akamine,
Mr. Shinohara and Mr. Kurasawa) discussed how to utilize economics in
teaching economic subjects in class, first by expressing their opinions
as follows: (1) more emphasis should be placed on the explanation of
the basic role and mechanism of economic systems, institutions and
policies, rather than memorization of those names and events, (2)
students should be encouraged to learn the economic way of thinking and
to comprehend and analyze economic and social events on their own, and
(3) we all should have a better understanding of market mechanism,
affecting our daily life, and the failures of markets as well as
governments in reality.
Then, the panelists responded to various questions from the audience
regarding moral and economics, winners and losers in competition,
merits and demerits of globalization, etc.
Finally, Mr. Shinohara, representing NEE (Network of Economic
Education) concluded by reflecting on the two-day seminar that this
kind of activities should be continued, but next time more
consideration would be given to the order and content of subjects to be
covered (including "finance" in the future) , and to meet the needs of
middle-school teachers and of high-school teachers separately.
At any rate, it was a good try on the part of NEE in cooperation with
the Tokyo Stock Exchange group for the benefit of teachers who are
eager to learn economics for more effective teaching practices in class.

5.As the USSR moves toward a market economy, a rapid and total reform would result in a better outcome than a slow transition.
（ソ連邦が市場経済に移行する際、急速かつ全面的改革のほうが、時間をかけた移行よりも望ましい結果をもたらす）
E 27.2% (40.1%), T 19.8% (50.9%), J 22.8% (44.3%)

15.The Federal Reserve System has the capacity to achieve a constant rate of growth of the money supply if it so desired.
（連邦準備制度は、もしそれが望ましいならば、貨幣供給を一定率で増加させる能力を持っている）
E 25.4% (36.6%), T 38.4% (26.0%), J 22.8% (37.3%)

17.Reducing the regulatory power of the Environmental Protection Agency would improve the efficiency of the U.S. economy.
（環境保護庁による規制の力を弱めることは、米国経済の効率性を高めるであろう）
E 10.6% (62.3%), T 11.9% (60.5%), J 12.4% (64.7%)

18.If the federal budget is to be balanced, it should be done over the business cycle rather than yearly.
（連邦予算を均衡させるとすれば、それは毎年ごとよりも、景気循環の期間を通じて図られるべきである）
E 60.1% (13.4%), T 42.4% (32.8%), J 26.1% (35.7%)

19.The cause of the rise in gasoline prices that occurred in the
wake of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait is the monopoly power of the large
oil companies.
（イラクのクウェート侵攻の際に起こったガソリン価格上昇は、巨大石油会社の独占力が原因であった）
E 11.4% ‘(67.5%), T 40.7% (36.7%), J 30.8% (47.6%)

23.In the movement from a non-market economy (e.g., Poland) it is
important that the ownership of productive resources be privatized at
the onset.
（非市場経済から市場経済への移行においては、最初に生産的な資源の所有権を民間に移すことが重要である）
E 35.1% (23.7%), T 33.9% (14.1%), J 34.2% (16.0%)

February 18, 2008

REPORT #5

The International Conference on Economic Education, organized by the
Research Group of Economic Education, WIAPS (Waseda Institute for
Asia-Pacific Studies, was held at the International Conference Room at
Waseda University on February 16 (Sat), 10am - 5pm.
After Waseda Univ. Professor Michio Yamaoka gave a brief opening
address, Josai Int'l Univ. Lecturer Shintaro Abe moderated the main
session by first having Ms. Gail Tamaribuchi (Chair, Secondary Program,
Institute for Teacher Education, University of Hawaii at Manoa) make
her presentation on "Free Choice & Curriculum Decisions in U.S.
Schools." She emphasized that, while economic understanding among high
school studens as well as adults seems to be progressing, there is
still much room for improvement, especially in some states and
localities, and more efforts are needed to make economic reasonsing the
4th R in the U.S. school curriculum.
Second, Mr. Richard Rankin (Advanced Placement Economics Teacher,
Iolani School, Honolulu) shared with the seminar participants some of
the teaching strategies that he often use to help students remember key
economic concepts such as marginal cost, opportunity cost, the role of
profits, etc. He used such simple things as a red handkerchief, a
lemon, a sheet of paper, a pair of scissors, etc. to make students feel
and experience economic activities associated with key concepts.
Third, Ms. Kristine Castagnaro (Executive Director, HCEE) explained the
"Economics Cadre" program, which was launched in September 2007 to
create and support those economics teachers who might be called
"economics champions" within Hawaii's public high school system. She
concluded that the Economics Cadre is a realistic program under the
current circumstances to encourage teachers, especially, economics
champions, to advocate for inclusion of economics in the high school
curriculum (see the reference below).
After lunch, the three speakers in turn took up various problems in
economic education. In particular, Ms. Tamaribuchi focused on some
negative impact of the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" on economic
education, whereas Mr. Rankin talked about U.S. students' weakness as
indicated by last year's national AP Economics exams and how the
College Board is attempting to address those weaknesses. Finally, Ms.
Castagnaro pointed out difficulties in linking native culture to
economic education by sharing her experience in developing a financial
literacy curriculum in relation to the native Hawaiian culture.
Free discussions and interactions between the speakers and the
participants took place after the presentations as well as at the
networking party. Clearly, it was a very stimulating and informative
seminar for all the participants.
References:
HCEE Website: http://econed-hawaii.org/
Economics Cadre: http://econed-hawaii.org/cadre.aspx/

Time: 03:31 PM

September 17, 2007

REPORT #4

After a brief opening remark by Prof. Fumio Ohtake (Osaka Univ.), a
keynote speech was given by Prof. Takamitsu Sawa (Doshisha Univ.), who
emphasized that what should be taught and learned in economics is the
mechanism of the market economy and the way of economic thinking, and
that economic education in Japan is in trouble at every level from the
elementary school to college and beyond.
Then, in the first afternoon session, Prof. Inose (Hirosaki Univ.) gave
an experimental class by using a manual of “Public Goods Game”
(originally developed Nihon Univ. Prof. Nakagawa), where participants
were divided into 10 groups ("households") to decide whether they would
bear the cost of earthquake proof repairs for their condominium. The
result was that about half of the households would be willing to pay,
and some discussion took place as to how to interpret this result.
Comments were made by Mr. Katsuya Takahashi (Toritsu Haijima High) and
Mr. Shigehiro Tanaka (Kitaku Kamiya Middle School), who appreciated
this kind of game material, while pointing out some potential problems
about the material in term of teachers' understanding and students'
interest.
In the second afternoon session, a symposirum on "How to Support
Economic Educaiton at School" was held, chaired by Prof. Hisashi
Kurihara (Shinshu Univ.), with three panelists, Mr. Shin Akamine (Tokyo
Stock Exchange), Ms. Ryoko Okazaki (Bank of Japan, PR Dept.) and Ms.
Shinko Onizuka (Japan FP Association), who explained about their
activities and materials to support various school programs in economic
education. Active discussions were made among participants including
Mr. Tadatoshi Asano (Yamamura Gakuen College) and Mr. Akira Arai, who
emphasized the important of the role of schools and teachers in
choosing available materials provided from outside.
In concluding remarks, Mr. Saegusa (Meguro Chuo Middle School) pointed
out some difficulties on the school side, such as securing enough
opportunities and time allocation for teacher training, and the
importance of various activities organized by the Economic Education
Network to help overcome those difficulties. That was also the
conclusion of Prof. Shinohara (Doshisha Univ.) , who expressed his
thanks to all the participants for useful discussions.
Reference:
For a Japanese summary and some pictures, see:http://blog.so-net.ne.jp/miyao-blog/2007-09-16

Time: 01:23 PM

April 16, 2007

PROPOSAL #1

How to Teach “Efficiency” to Middle/High School Students

It is rather difficult to teach such abstract concepts as
"efficiency" and "optimality" to middle/high school students. The
following is an idea of teaching these concepts relatively easily to
students

1) Economics is a subject to "economize," that is to eliminate or minimize "waste" in our life as well as in our society.
2) Then, what is "waste"? There is some visible waste such as stockpiles of unsold goods and involuntary unemployment.
3) However, there is much more "invisible" than visible waste, such as
mismatch between goods and taste and also between skills and jobs.
4) The economy is said to be "efficient," if there is no such waste in
the economy. But how such an efficient economy can be realized?
5) Efficiency could be realized if there were the Almighty God who knows everything including people's taste and skills.
6) In reality, communist dictators tried to be the Almighty God, but
they failed since they could not possibly know each and every
individual's taste or skills. Then, is there any way the economy can
achieve efficiency? The answer is "yes, there is a way."
7) That is through the free market system, in which individuals can buy
goods and services in the free market, according to their taste,
subject to their income, and earn income by supplying labor in the free
market. The free market system can achieve efficiency as if individuals
were led by the God's "invisible hand."
8) It is needless to say that in reality markets are not so free and,
as a result, there is some waste existing in the economy. We should
study under what conditions efficiency can be achieved or cannot be
achieved, and how waste can be eliminated if it exists in the market
economy.

April 02, 2007

REPORT #3

After brief opening remarks by Prof. Soichi Shinohara (Head, NEE)
and Prof. Harunobu Onagi (Nihon Univ.), a keynote speech was given by
Prof. Shinohara, who emphasized the importance of "messages" in
economic education for the purpose of educating pupils to be good
citizens in modern society. After the speech, a Q&A session took
place regarding how to choose appropriate topics for economic education.
Then, the general meeting was held to approve the budget and activity
reports as well as the revised fiscal year cycle (9/1-8/31) and the
date for the next annual meetings (9/15/2007).
In the first afternoon session, Mr. Saegusa (Meguro Chuo Middle School)
gave an experimental class by using a revised version of “Beef Bowl
Shop Simulation” with more factors and flexibility in decision-making.
In the second afternoon session, a panel discussion was held, led by
Prof. Kurihara (Shinshu Univ.) as the coordinator, with three
panelists, Mr. Kikimaru (Yokohama-ichiritsu Ichiba Middle School), Ms.
Masuno (Otsuma Middle-High School) and Mr. Hotate (Tokodaki-fuzoku
Kagaku-gijutsu High School), who explained about their approaches and
materials to attract pupils’ attention to such economic topics as
corporate stocks, income distribution, industry and corporate
management, etc. . Then, Prof. Otake (Osaka Univ.), as the commentator,
pointed out that some more ideas may be needed to teach pupils about
social implications of the topics and episodes that are taken up in
class.
Then, a lively discussion followed, and continued at the party in the reception room.
Reference:
For a Japanese summary and some pictures, see:http://blog.so-net.ne.jp/miyao-blog/archive/20070318

Time: 12:53 PM

February 02, 2007

INTERVIEW #4

Interview with Prof. William Comanor on Economic Education

Interviewee: Prof. William S. Comanor (Professor, UCLA)

On 12/29 (12/28 in Pacific Standard Time), I interviewed Prof.
Comanor, who had a lot to say about economic education based on his
long-time teaching experience at various schools in the US and Canada.
The following is a summary of my interview with Prof. Comanor.

Summary of Prof. Comanor's Interview.
First of all, economics is a “methodology” and not a “subject matter.”
When you talk about teaching economics, people think that you are
talking about the economy, and that is wrong. What distinguishes
economics from sociology and other social sciences is not the subject
matter but rather the methodology, which can apply to any situation
with scarce resources.
Second, economics emphasizes the fact that all decisions are taken
under constraints. Most people tend to think that for good decisions
all we need to do is think about what you want to achieve. That misses
the methodology we economist use to determine optimal decisions.
In economic education, students should be taught the fact that all
decisions require identification of the constraints as well as the
objectives. In a more concrete terms, they should be aware of realistic
constraints, whether in daily living or in future career.
In daily living, they first have to decide how much budge they have.
However, all constraints are not monetary constraints. Some constraints
are imposed by other people like their parents.
For their future career, students should identify their objectives for
sure. But again, that is not sufficient. Just “follow your dream” could
be unbelievable non-sense, unless constraints are taken into account.
Economics can tell you these important aspects of decision making,
whether it is about your daily living or about your future career. I am
startled by how little that is appreciated.